The Gator Bowl had some interesting officiating (B12 on the field, B10 on instant replay). Michael Vick stays in the game after stomping an opponents leg? Cute! That second pass interference call on Louisville in the 4th quarter? Not a particular fan of L'ville (or VPI), but hate questionable calls even if instant replay is injected but wasn't used in case of the later.

Individual schools in a collective. Preference towards decentralization. No way in Hell that they're ever going to restructure something to give the NCAA more funds than they already get. Hence the refereeing situation stays.

NCAA chose to fund travel for all teams (in, I believe, all sports) for national tournaments out of the basketball money (along with the reward payments). It's killing the NAIA, at least from what I've observed.

Being an SEC fan, I note the recent complaints regarding the conference's controversial officiating in football. It is embarrassing and needs to be dealt with immediately and effectively. The suspension of one set of game officials is noted. Is there a larger issue or is the problem deeper? What about the claim of Alabama using tape for field goal guidance?

This irregularity appears to have gone on longer than the current year. A couple/few years ago, I observed how a questionable call impacted the outcome of a Vanderbilt--Florida game.

Florida and Alabama, on surface, appear to be the beneficiaries of controversial and/or questionable calls. Some may say Arkansas, Vandy, South Carolina, Mississippi State, and perhaps others, have gotten the short end of the stick on some calls.

If it is predertermined, in some overt or unconscious fashion, that FLA and 'Bama are going to be facilitiated to the SEC Championship game as undefeated teams, and others are there simply for their use in the process of reaching that objective, it would certainly demean the game, dishonor impacted schools, and insults fans.

As used, instant replay does not assure integrity, it's there for second or more looks, and judments are still human, motives included.

Certainly the SEC in not the only conference with controversial officiating that arises to media commentaries. However, when a pattern appears developing, and distinct repeats become observed, it's time to point out the inconsistencies at an elevated level until the matter is thoroughly addressed.

Hats off to SEC coaches such as Spurrier, Mullen, and Petrino for speaking up!

Two years ago, when WVU had Pat White & Steve Slaton, they needed to win their final regular-season game (at home against Pitt) to stay in the BCS Top 2 and go the National Championship Game.

Unfortunately for the Mountaineers, Pitt came to play, especially on defense.

As the game wore on, Pitt led 13-9 going into the fourth quarter.The Big East Referees suddenly decided to get into the act.The final 10 minutes of the game featured some of the most blatantly biased officiating that I have ever seen. Despite tons of help, Pitt hung on to win, and the team that deserved to win the game (based on performance on the field) WON. Reportedly, Mike Tranghese was bombarded with angry calls and e-mails and was thoroughly embarrassed.

What can be done ? If the entire officiating crew is dishonest, NOTHING.

Let's assume that the occasional call (like the stripped ball in this past week's Florida - Mississippi State game) was an honest mistake.Then give the coaches a few replay challenges per game (and perhaps loosen up the restrictions on what is reviewable).Enough people in the stands seeing the replay on TV will know when a bad call was made, and they will let the refs know it. I think the NFL's system works pretty well actually.

If the refs really want to effect the outcome, though, they will.Offensive holding can be called (or not called) on every play, and you can easily kill any drive with one or more holding calls.

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